Bloating Constantly

[sweeeeet]

I am down to tolerating only a few foods now, cooked shrimp, and peeled apples are two that I eat regularly that don't give me diarrhea or cramps I just eat them to get rid of the hunger pangs. Nothing else will work anymore-wheat, milk, eggs, butter, gluten, casein, potatoes, rice, certain vegetables. and most regular meat I just can't digest any of that stuff anymore. But with what little I eat during the day, I am still have that wicked bloating problems and diarrhea. I work out regularly, 5 times a week and yet I keep gaining weight. I barely eat 1200 calories a day and don't eat fatty foods. I just stay bloated. I gave up on gas pills, they just don't work. My health checked out normal. Doctor says I couldn't be more healthy and she doesn't understand why I am gaining weight. Any ideas could help me. BTW, the probiotics I was taking on an empty stomach but even that doesn't help anymore.

[Guest sueward]

Hello;

I had this problem with bloating and could not tolerate eggs, wheat, caesin, sugar, yeast, etc. Kept gaining weight. And hurt in my muscles and all over. My doctor thought it was all in my head. Then I went to an alternative health doctor. He put me on a strict diet. I got a juicer and drank 16oz of carrot/celery/apple juice morning, noon, and night. I also drank a small amount if I got hungry in between. I took aloe vera juice once a day. And also took the probiotics. Cut out all soda, etc., and drank water or lemon water. Baked Fish and ate that or Chicken to keep from getting weak. I done this for thirty days.

Yes, I had begun to lose weight and was feeling much better. Before long I was working my job again and doing well. Problem is that years down the road I did not follow a good diet and I became sick again eating the American diet. And I just cannot tolerate wheat gluten, caesin, eggs, sugar, yeast, etc. So, now I am going to have to go back on this diet again. Although it works, it is a hard diet to follow, especially if your family love cake, ice cream, dairy, chips, soda, and pizza.

Hope this helps. I do not usually post but thought maybe you could talk to a alternative health doctor about this or read about it and that this may help you. Sue

[sweeeeet]

Wow that sounds just like me. My weight fluctuates daily, sometimes I weigh 140 and sometimes 135 depending on the bloating. People I've talked to say just don't give up just yet, keep eating moderate amounts of foods that don't bother you,, drink lots of water and keep exercising like I have been doing. I try to watch labels, but I have lactose pills and Omega Zyme if I think something might have gluten, dairy casein pectin or lectin. And I do probiotics before I go to bed and when I wake up, and those have really been a huge difference the past few weeks, the stomach aches have been much fewer. I wish there was an easy fix for everything.......sigh

Hope you are feeling better too. And thanks for the reply.

[CarolinaKip]

I have more bloat and gas going gluten-free more than ever. nightshade free, corn free, and low oxalate diet, dairy free. Still have the bad bloat everyday. No caffine or soft drinks. Hoping I can figure it out soon.

[Cypressmyst]

You may have secondary infections, amebas or parasites in your gut that are reeking havoc. Gluten causes your body to get off balance and these things may need to be gotten under control before you can be whole again.

At least that is what I'm hoping. You may want to have a stool test done to check for some of these little buggers.

Until then, you certainly have my sympathy.

[burdee]

You may have secondary infections, amebas or parasites in your gut that are reeking havoc. Gluten causes your body to get off balance and these things may need to be gotten under control before you can be whole again.

At least that is what I'm hoping. You may want to have a stool test done to check for some of these little buggers.

Until then, you certainly have my sympathy.

Good Point! During the past 4 years I had 8 different gastro infections (5 bacteria, 2 parasites and candida) which caused my gut to remain bloated despite abstaining from my diagnosed intolerance/allergens gluten, dairy, soy, egg, cane sugar, nutmeg and vanilla.

However, you may also have other digestive challenges, like deficiency of good bacteria in your intestines. So taking high dose probiotics without FOS could improve your intestinal digestion. Because FOS causes gas and bloating, look for probiotics which do not contain FOS.

Finally you may have depleted stomach acid, which can be diagnosed by a Heidelberg capsule test. After I was tested for, diagnosed with hypochloridia (low stomach acid production) and had taken betaine hydrochloride supplements for awhile, I finally lost the bloated gut which I had for years. If taking 1-2 tablespoons of cider vinegar mixed with 1/4 cup of water before a meal helps your digestion and reduces bloat, you may have low stomach acid. However, I suggest you get tested for stomach acid production before taking HCl supplements.

[GFinDC]

You could also try taking some Betaine HCL once a week or every 2 weeks. If you do have low stomach acid it might clear up unfriendly bacteria in the stomach. I don't think it is good to take it every day myself IMHO. You could end up becoming dependent on it and that is not a good thing. Nobody wants to tell their parent they are hooked on acid after all, not since the 60's at least.

[BRUMI1968]

I was the bloat queen, even years after going gluten-free, CF, SF, etc....everythingF. I finallly tried the low fodmap diet, and that has really helped. Sorry I don't have a link, but if you google it, you'll find out more...or even search this board.

Good luck.

[burdee]

You could also try taking some Betaine HCL once a week or every 2 weeks. If you do have low stomach acid it might clear up unfriendly bacteria in the stomach. I don't think it is good to take it every day myself IMHO. You could end up becoming dependent on it and that is not a good thing. Nobody wants to tell their parent they are hooked on acid after all, not since the 60's at least.

I rather enjoy digesting meals without bloating, gas or cramping pain. Before I began using HCl supplements with every meal, I felt overly full after eating small amounts, constantly bloated, gassy and crampy with chronic intestinal infections. After the Heidelberg capsule test showed I have impaired stomach acid production, I knew I would need betaine hydrochloride supplements to enjoy 'normal' digestion.

Because I was not diagosed with celiac until age 56 and also was previously prescribed acid blocking drugs to treat 'gastritis' (a misdiagnosis of celiac disease), I may have sustained enough damage to my parietal (acid producing) cells to need HCl supplements the rest of my life. However, that's so much easier than suffering all those digestive problems and chronic intestinal infections because I don't have normal stomach acid production. After all, I take daily supplemental thyroid to counteract hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto's (which is also highly correlated with celiac disease).

[GFinDC]

Hi Burdee,

I got relief from a few times with the HCL pills, but I certainly can understand that may not work for everyone. They did help me when I was getting bloated a lot too. It is good to hear they are helping you.

They say that H. Pylori can lower stomach acid production. I guess it does that as a defense so it can thrive better.

[burdee]

Hi Burdee,

I got relief from a few times with the HCL pills, but I certainly can understand that may not work for everyone. They did help me when I was getting bloated a lot too. It is good to hear they are helping you.

They say that H. Pylori can lower stomach acid production. I guess it does that as a defense so it can thrive better.

H. Pylori causes inflammation which inhibits acid secretion from parietal cells in the damaged stomach lining. That inflammation can cause ulcers despite low acid secretion. Although H. Pylori can survive normal (high) stomach acid levels, that bacteria thrives in low stomach acid condition. So inflammation lowers stomach acid and H. Pylori proliferates and causes even more damage.

When I had H. Pylori I could not tolerate HCL supplements. After I killed the H. Pylori bacteria (with mastic gum) and healed my stomach lining (with L-glutamine and mastic gum), I could resume taking HCl supplements. However, I was advised to start with one capsule per meal for 3 days and slowly increase that amount as tolerated.

Anyone who has damaged stomach lining, current or previous H. Pylori infections should not try HCl supplements without taking the Heidelberg capsule test to determine their stomach acid production. If they have almost no stomach acid production, their stomach lining may be so thin (and parietal cells so damaged) that they won't tolerate supplemental HCl without burning pain.

[RiceGuy]

I have found digestive enzymes to be helpful in appreciably reducing the bloating. Look for the kind derived from microbes, since they can withstand the acidity of the stomach. Some formulas are better than most, which are typically cheap and not very effective IMHO. Some also contain gluten, even though the label may claim gluten-free. This is because barley enzymes are often included. NOW Foods and Doctor's Best each make at least one decent enzyme formula.

The HCL and/or Apple Cider Vinegar can be quite helpful over time too. When buying the vinegar, make sure you get the raw, unpasteurized, unfiltered kind. The Bragg brand is often recommended.

For awhile my digestion seemed practically non-existent, but it has steadily improved over time, and with careful meal planning. I hope you get improvement faster than I have!

[GFinDC]

H. Pylori causes inflammation which inhibits acid secretion from parietal cells in the damaged stomach lining. That inflammation can cause ulcers despite low acid secretion. Although H. Pylori can survive normal (high) stomach acid levels, that bacteria thrives in low stomach acid condition. So inflammation lowers stomach acid and H. Pylori proliferates and causes even more damage.

When I had H. Pylori I could not tolerate HCL supplements. After I killed the H. Pylori bacteria (with mastic gum) and healed my stomach lining (with L-glutamine and mastic gum), I could resume taking HCl supplements. However, I was advised to start with one capsule per meal for 3 days and slowly increase that amount as tolerated.

Anyone who has damaged stomach lining, current or previous H. Pylori infections should not try HCl supplements without taking the Heidelberg capsule test to determine their stomach acid production. If they have almost no stomach acid production, their stomach lining may be so thin (and parietal cells so damaged) that they won't tolerate supplemental HCl without burning pain.

Hi Burdee,

I have heard about mastic gum treatment for H. Pylori but haven't looked into it. If it worked for you then I think it is worth checking into.

I had an ulcer a while back in my upper left stomach area. I used a somewhat unconventional treatment for it. I purposely laid on my left side for 10 or 15 minutes so the stomach acid would hit that area where the pain was. That's about all I could take. But after a few weeks it started getting better. And slowly the pain went away. Now it is gone. So either the acid ate a hole right through my stomach lining that is pain-free or it killed the H.Pylori. Ah, who knows. But I suppose it is worth considering that the H.Pylori reduces stomach acid for a reason, so it can thrive. That's the last thing I want it to do so on with the acid.

Ok, I can't say this is a great treatment for ulcers, but it worked for me. I was not taking Betaine HCL at the time though. That would probably have been too much of a good thing.

Thanks for the mastic gum tip. I will look for some of that in case it comes back.

[burdee]

Hi Burdee,

I have heard about mastic gum treatment for H. Pylori but haven't looked into it. If it worked for you then I think it is worth checking into.

I had an ulcer a while back in my upper left stomach area. I used a somewhat unconventional treatment for it. I purposely laid on my left side for 10 or 15 minutes so the stomach acid would hit that area where the pain was. That's about all I could take. But after a few weeks it started getting better. And slowly the pain went away. Now it is gone. So either the acid ate a hole right through my stomach lining that is pain-free or it killed the H.Pylori. Ah, who knows. But I suppose it is worth considering that the H.Pylori reduces stomach acid for a reason, so it can thrive. That's the last thing I want it to do so on with the acid.

Ok, I can't say this is a great treatment for ulcers, but it worked for me. I was not taking Betaine HCL at the time though. That would probably have been too much of a good thing.

Thanks for the mastic gum tip. I will look for some of that in case it comes back.